Greater New Orleans

Tulane Green Wave forward Trevante Drye (34) and guard Jay Hook (24) make the going tough for Treshawn Bolden (22) of Jackson State during the game between Jackson State Tigers and Tulane Green Wave at the Devlin Fieldhouse on Saturday, December 7, 2013. (Michael DeMocker, Nola.com / The Times-Picayune)

"It felt good," Hook said. "My teammates got me the ball.
I just did what I did best and that was shoot the ball. Shooters never get down
on their shot. My mentality was to keep shooting and everyone told me to keep
shooting so I just trusted my teammates."

The previous school record for made 3-pointers in a game was held by Patrick Lewis who hit seven against Saint Louis on February 14, 1996.

Hook had gone 3-of-15 from the floor in his last two games
before hitting his first three 3-pointers against Jackson State.

And while Hook's career night certainly helped, Tulane
Coach Ed Conroy also pointed out that the Green Wave stuck to the intended game
plan defensively maybe more so than any other game this season.

It was that kind of attention to the game plan that
allowed the Wave to withstand a hot-shooting start from the Tigers and what
allowed them to hold Jackson State to 40 percent from the field.

"Our guys were maybe the most disciplined they've been in
staying to the game plan even when the result didn't go our way," Conroy said.
"In earlier games, we would panic and then someone would try to do something to
overcompensate on the next play and we stayed disciplined tonight."

Tulane had allowed each of its five opponents during the
losing streak to shoot over 50 percent from the floor. Jackson State appeared
to be heading down that same path early, especially after freshman guard Javeres
Brent hit four first half 3-pointers of his own.

However, that's when Tulane settled down and Brent didn't
make another 3-pointer after the 8:33 mark in the first half.

"I think the biggest thing with those first couple of
early threes was we knew how we needed to guard (Brent) and we missed those
coverages early and he knocked them in," Conroy said. "But I thought from then
on, we played the percentages and we were much more disciplined sticking to
what the plan was."

Tulane led for all of the second half until Jackson
State's Derell Taylor hit a put-back layup with 4:04 remaining to give the
Tigers a 59-57 lead. The young Green Wave team was undaunted, however, as Hook
drove to the goal on the ensuing possession and hit a layup to tie the game up.

Hook said that Jackson State was overplaying the three-point shot, which allowed
him an easier path to the goal.

"You have to play in the rhythm of the game," Hook said.
"When you hit your first few shots, they have to play up on you. That's why it's
good to hit your first few shots of a game."

The Tigers answered with a free throw but Hook added two
more free throws with 2:06 remaining to give Tulane the lead for good, allowing
the Green Wave to improve to 48-2 under Conroy when they have the lead with two
minutes left to play.

Freshman point guard Jonathan Stark, who finished with 16
points and six assists, had the final two daggers for Tulane has he hit a
pull-up jumper with 25.4 seconds remaining to put Tulane up 66-62 and then made
it a two-possession game with 8.7 seconds left with another free throw to put Tulane
up 69-65.

Sophomore guard Louis Dabney added a free throw late to
push the game to its final margin. Dabney, who had 11 points and six assists,
was the only other Tulane player to finish in double figures.

Stark said he was talking to Hook before the game and told
him that the team was going to need him as a shooter against Jackson State.

"He's a great shooter," Stark said of Hook. "We're going
to try and look for him as much as possible when he's open because he's going
to knock that down."

But overall, Hook and his teammate were happy just to be
able to snap the five-game losing streak before heading into exam time and a
ten-day break in play. The Green Wave won't take the floor again until they
host Washington on December 17.

"It was a good team win," Hook said. "That was a great
team we played against in Jackson State. It keeps us going in the right
direction. The losses we put ourselves in but we were still learning also. As
we were learning, we got this win."